THE HAGUE (AlArabiya.net, Agencies)
Several months after appearing to have escaped legal responsibility for his "offensively anti-Islamic" film "Fitna," a Dutch court ordered prosecutors Wednesday to put far-right lawmaker Geert Wilders on trial over charges of inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims.
"By attacking the symbols of the Muslim religion, he also insulted Muslim believers," the Amsterdam appeals court said in a written judgment.
"In a democratic system, hate speech is considered to be so serious that it is in the general interest to ... draw a clear line," it added.
Wilders is the leader of the Dutch Freedom Party (PVV), which has nine seats in parliament.
" In a democratic system, hate speech is considered to be so serious that it is in the general interest to ... draw a clear line " Amsterdam appeals court Last year, the Dutch Public Prosecutor decided halfway through, after six months investigation, not to prosecute on the grounds that Wilders had not committed a punishable offence either in remarks he made to the Volkskrant newspaper or in his film "Fitna."
The court, however, received numerous complaints from citizens over the prosecution service's refusal to press charges against Wilders for several public anti-Islamic statements.
Wilders has compared Islam to Nazism, called for the banning of the religion's holy book – the Quran -- in the Netherlands, calling it "fascist."
His 17-minute film "Fitna" has been called "offensively anti-Islamic" by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and its screening in the Netherlands prompted protests in Pakistan, Iran, Indonesia and Afghanistan. |
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No appeal " Participation in the public debate has become a dangerous activity. If you give your opinion, you risk being prosecuted " Geert Wilders, lawmaker and filmaker The prosecutor's office in Amsterdam said it had no option to appeal the judgment, and an investigation into charges of hate speech would begin immediately.
It could not say how long it would be before Wilders appeared in court.
Wilders, for his part, reacted to the court's decision by saying the ruling marked "a black day."
I see "the judgment of the court as an attack on the freedom of expression," he said in a statement on his party website.
"Participation in the public debate has become a dangerous activity. If you give your opinion, you risk being prosecuted."
Not only he, but all Dutch citizens opposed to the "Islamisation" of the Netherlands will be on trial, said Wilders.
"Who will stand up for our culture if I am silenced?"
"Fitna," which links the holy Quran with terror attacks, has sparked uproar in Muslim countries. |
